


Costume Party

by QueenPlatypus



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Doctors & Physicians, Drinking, Drinking Games, F/M, Fluff, Halloween Costumes, Most wanted, Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27406606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPlatypus/pseuds/QueenPlatypus
Summary: Ethan gets invited to a costume party at Hailey's apartment. She convinces him to dress up and he obliges.Or a short fic coming out following Halloween.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 10





	Costume Party

**Author's Note:**

> *arrow at Pixelberry* Bring back Most Wanted for a book 2!

“C’mon! It will be fun! Pretty please?”

Ethan Ramsey was doomed from the start, now that he could think about it. He liked to believe he had the most self-control in every situation possible. But then, a certain resident had to come and prove him wrong again and again. Right now was one of those occasions, has he got ready to go to… a _costume_ party.

Being doctors, most of their shifts were long and on many days before they could have a day-off. So when Halloween came around and all of Hailey Fisherman’s friends all found themselves unable to throw a Halloween party on the exact same day, they had to compromise. It was now a week after October 31st and the day of this party.

Initially, when she invited him to the party, he was going to say no.

“I don’t do costumes.” He explained.

“Oh, please Ethan! I already have the perfect duo planned and…”

“Do I look like the kind of person who dresses up?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Then you have my answer.”

He tried to stay firm, but then, she pouted in the adorable way that made him unable to refuse anything. When she added the _pretty please_ while her eyes were glistering, he gave up his resolve and obliged.

Now that he was thinking of it, the last time he had actually wore a costume on Halloween or a similar occasion was before he entered Middle school. As a child, he went trick-or-treating: at first with his parents, then with his neighborhood friends. As he started to head towards puberty, he got disinterested in the event pretty fast. Of course, people his age all around him would continue to celebrate the day, but he would just look at it from afar, never taking part of it.

That is… until this day. As stated, it was a week since Halloween had passed, but here he was, taking a last look at himself in the mirror. Hailey insisted for them to have a pair’s concept and, knowing Ethan, she knew it had to be something relatively simple or else even her wouldn’t be able to convince him to partake in the tradition. With that in mind, she thought about what his father once said to her about him wanting to be a detective and… She proceeded.

There was a TV show named _Most Wanted_ where two police officers, Detective David Reyes and Deputy Marshal Samantha Massey, had to team up to solve a case. The show was waiting for the second season to release, but even so, Hailey still convinced Ethan to sit down and watch the whole 15 episodes of the first season. Surprisingly, he enjoyed it and was now a fan… at least, as much as this concept was appliable to one Ethan Ramsey, of course.

Knowing how he would look like, Ethan ended up thinking that pretending to be Detective Dave Reyes wouldn’t be all that after all. All he had to do was to put on a white shirt, a black and white-stripped tie and gray pants and vest. With that, Hailey gave him a fake LAPD badge. To complete his look, Ethan brushed his hair and placed it as the character did in the show.

But now… He had been ready for 20 minutes and Hailey was still in his bathroom, getting herself ready as well. Even if the party was at her apartment, she was going with him since they were attending as a pair. She had helped decorate the place before she left, but was now at Ethan’s.

Slightly impatient, the older doctor got up from his couch and headed for his bathroom. Unsurprisingly, he found the door closed. Sighing, he knocked.

“Hails? Are you done?”

She didn’t answer, but instead, he was able to hear music. The sound was faded because of the door isolating it a little, but he could tell it was a dance-y song: aka the type he wasn’t usually listening to.

Curious, he tried the doorknob and he was able to open it, understanding she had not locked it. Pushing the door, the music came to his ears louder now and what was before his eyes made his brows shoot up.

Hailey was ready, all right. She was dressed up as Deputy Marshal Sam Massey in a very accurate way. He blonde hair was slightly curled to make it seem shorter, she was wearing dark clothing except for the red shirt she was wearing under her leather jacket. On it was pinned a star badge and at her waist, he could see a fake gun with the orange seal at the end of the canon.

The only reason why she wasn’t getting out of the bathroom? She was dancing to the song that was currently playing on her phone. Her hips swaying, her hands up in the air as she was singing _falsely_ along to the lyrics.

“Sugar wooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh! Sugar wooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh! When the sun goes down I’ll be coming up!”

“What the hell are you doing?”

Surprised, the younger doctor stopped and snapped her eyes open to see Ethan leaning against the doorframe, eyeing her curiously. She smiled, sheepishly.

“I think this is called dancing.” She answered.

“Gee, thanks. And the other thing you were doing with your mouth?”

“You mean singing?”

“I refuse to call that singing, that would be an insult to all the talented singers in the world.”

“Ha-ha. I know I’m a bad singer, but still. It’s not because I can’t sing well that I shouldn’t!”

“I strongly disagree.”

She crossed her arms.

“You mean to tell me you don’t sing for fun? Ever? Not even under the shower?”

“I know this is a common practice, but… No, I don’t.”

“Jesus, you’re so boooooring!”

Picking up her phone, she stops the song, slipping the object in her back pocket.

“Okay, I’m ready to go! How do I look?”

“You look fine.”

“Just fine?”

“What else do you want me to say? I mean, you’re dressed coherently, and yes, you’re pretty, but that’s not anything new…”

“Well, you could say that you think this look suits me well, or that you think I’m sexy…”

Smirking, she crosses the distance, settling her hands on him and she touches him, making him shiver as she tiptoes to get closer to his ear.

“Because I think you are sexy and I really want to tear your shirt apart, right now.”

He gulped, but cocked his head back to look at her, a smug grin on his face.

“You know… That’s something that _can_ be arranged.”

To this, she laughs, pecks him before patting him on the shoulder.

“Don’t think you can get out of party duty so easily, mister! We’re still going.”

She walks out the bathroom, but stops there, shooting him a look.

“But… Maybe later.”

She winks and he chuckles, shaking his head before following her.

They arrive at her apartment a few minutes later. Upon stepping inside, Ethan takes a look around. There are a few fairy lights hung up on the walls, the furniture has been moved to make some space. As of now, not that many people arrived.

“Hailey! Dr. Ramsey! You’re here!”

Ethan lowers his head to see Sienna heading towards them, disguised as a witch according to her pointy black hat and the broom she’s holding.

“I’m sorry, who? I’m Deputy Marshal Sam Massey and this is my partner…”

Getting her cue, he sighs.

“Detective Dave Reyes.”

Sienna gasps.

“Oh my God, that’s such a good concept, you guys! I love this show! And you pulled off their looks perfectly!”

“I know, right? No thanks to him, but still!”

“You don’t need to throw me under the bus, you know?”

“Meeeeh, still true, though.”

He rolls his eyes, and Sienna laughs.

“Anyway, you’ll see that there are some… interesting costumes tonight. Not everyone is there yet, but…”

“BANANA SPLIT!”

Sienna turns around in one move and the other two doctors frown. A second later, Bryce and Rafael, both disguised as bananas, come running in the living room and bump their chests together. Ethan blinks. What the _heck._

“Guys, be careful, you’ve broken a glass, already!” Says Sienna as she starts heading towards them.

“I… I think I’ll go help her. Feel free to look around and mingle, okay?”

Hailey gives him a peck on the cheek and joins Sienna, leaving him alone by the door. Sighing, he steps inside and closes the door behind him before heading straight to the kitchen. He looks at the drinking options: beer, tequila, vodka… He smiles, finally finding an untouched bottle of scotch. Not shying away from it, he opens it and pours himself a glass.

“I see you wasted no time in finding your due.”

He turns to see Jackie, disguised as an archaeologist.

“This bottle practically had my name on it.”

“Yeah, Hailey picked it up specifically for you. She said you would like it, since none of us actually drink scotch.”

To this, he smiles while she grabs a can of beer from the fridge.

“Thank you kindly, then.”

She shrugs before leaving him. He uses this occasion to go in the apartment, exploring it and… socializing, a little. He sees Elijah disguised as… actually, he didn’t know what that was supposed to be. A…

After he tried to figure it out, he gave up. He saw that there was quite a few people invited, even some he didn’t know at all. A bit lost and uneasy, he sighed in relief upon seeing Aurora, disguised as a cat. It was nice to see a known face. He heads towards her and sits at her right.

“A cat?” He asked.

She nodded.

“They insisted I wear a costume. They said I would look ‘cute’ like this… Please, don’t laugh.”

“I don’t have any reason. Hailey did the same thing with me.”

“Well, at least in your case, apart for the fake gun and the badge, you can’t really tell that you’re in costume, unlike me. She didn’t want to be bold with you.”

He frowns.

“What do you mean?”

With a sigh, Aurora takes out her phone and goes straight on Pictagram where she doesn’t waste time on searching for Hailey’s profile. A few taps later, she gives him her phone.

“Those are all the costume she put up for Halloween since 2012. Take a look.”

Brows furrowed, he starts going through the pictures. Only then he sees that Hailey actually is a pro of costumes. It goes from princess to monster, to some well executed cosplays. None of those designs is simple and it looks like the vast majority of her costumes have been hand-made.

“That… is something.”

“Tell me about it. But then, there is your matching costumes. Very simple and… bland, if I’m being honest.”

Ethan gives Aurora back her phone, thinking about she said. At work, he always did everything to push her professionally speaking, to get her out of her comfort zone. Outside of it, he trusted she could do this on her own. But… Was she stopping herself because of him? Was he holding her back?

“Oh, finally, there you are! I’ve been looking for you two everywhere!”

The two doctors turn their heads just in time to see Hailey coming towards them. In one strong grip, she was able to drag Ethan on his feet.

“We’re about to start a doctor showdown! C’mon!”

She started to pull, but he used his own strength to stop her.

“A doctor showdown? And that is..?”

“Oh, right. Not everyone here is a doctor or working in the health field, so we do a quiz where the non-knowers have to throw at us some symptoms to a sickness they googled. I know it’s not completely accurate, but we ignore that for the sake of the game. The first team to diagnose correctly gets the point while the others have to take a shot. The team with most points wins.”

“I see… Well, I hope you’re all ready to lose, then.”

“Not if I make you lose, _Dr. Ramsey._ ”

The three of them finally join the rest of the Edenbrook gang, even Rafael who’s not a doctor. Kyra, who was disguised as a fireman, decided to be the judge. Instantly, they get split up in teams: Bryce with Hailey, Jackie with Elijah, Sienna with Rafael and Ethan with Aurora. The reason why Hailey and Ethan were not paired together was obvious: both being on the diagnostics team, it would give them an unfair headstart.

Soon, the game started. Surprisingly, Ethan thought it was a bit harder than he initially expected: the fact they had to take a shot each time they weren’t able to answer fast enough didn’t help with the concentration. The symptoms being vaguely explained by people who were mostly unfamiliar with the medical terms weren’t helping. Fortunately, after a few rounds along with Aurora’s help, he was able to get the hang of it. Ultimately, it was only his team opposite Hailey and Bryce’s. One question left.

“You’re going down, Emery, Ramsey!” Said Bryce with a smug grin.

“You better not let down the banana nation!” Added Rafael.

“Oh, we won’t. Right, Hails?”

“Hell yeah! Those two will be kissing our feet when we’re done!”

“Must I remind you I have more experience in diagnostics than all of you combined? Frankly… You don’t stand a chance with me as your opponent.”

The crowd let out a low whistle as he and Hailey talked through their eyes, silently telling the other that they were the best.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough, now! One question left, remember? Tiffany, you’re up!” Said Kyra.

Ethan shrugged, looked at Aurora and they both nodded before paying attention to the next question. The said Tiffany had her eyes on her phone screen as she read aloud the symptoms written on it.

“So… This person has severe headaches that come through very often and are really painful… Along with that… There can be nosebleed and blood in urine, huh… An irregular heartbeat… And they can experience fatigue, confusion, vision problems… Along with breathing getting harder and some chest pain.”

The click was instant in Ethan’s mind. But before he was able to say it, Hailey was faster.

“High blood pressure!”

“Yeah, you got it!”

Instantly, Bryce let out a whoop before taking Hailey in his arms and spinning her around, making her scream before she laughed, hanging on to him with dear life. Ethan chuckled, but still clapped politely. After all, he wasn’t a sore loser and he could accept cases when he wasn’t winning. He turned to Aurora.

“We’ll get them next time.”

“Of course we are. I’m here to win, always.”

Smiling, he picked up the last shot and downed it. As the crowd dispersed, he approached Hailey who was now doing a sort-of happy dance with Bryce. Upon seeing Ethan come, she smiled.

“So, are you going to bow down to the queen? I’m waiiiiting.”

He snickered.

“I have other ways of worshipping you.”

“ _Ew_. I’ve heard enough, I need another drink, who’s with me?” Asked Jackie.

“I’m down!”

The rest of the gang headed to the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone. Ethan stepped closer.

“What do you say we get away from here for a while… Maybe take a walk around the neighborhood?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

As they got out of the party, Ethan slipped his hand in hers, taking the lead in the walk he was bringing her on. The wind kissed their faces as they walked down the empty streets of Boston, only visible because of the streetlamps.

“Something on your mind?” She asked.

“Yes.” He confessed.

“What is it?”

He comes to a stop. Without letting go of his hand, she walks so she is able to face him.

“Am I holding you back?”

“What? Of course not. You always push me to be the best doctor I can…”

“I don’t mean at work, Hails. I mean in everyday life.”

“What kind of idea is that? Where did it come from?”

“I… I saw your previous Halloween costumes.”

She shot him a confused look.

“I know it looks like nothing. Frankly, hearing myself saying it, I know it sounds ridiculous. But… For many years, you’ve had so many… elaborated costumes. And this year… It looks like you’ve settled for what you think would satisfy me instead of something you could have really wanted. And, it made me think that you might be doing that around me unconsciously with other things as well.”

She shakes her head.

“I’m going to stop you right there, Ethan. I am in no way doing that. Ever. I mean, sure, there is a part of me who wants to keep you comfortable no matter what, but… I also am trying to push you as you push me every day.”

She takes his other hand.

“All those costumes… Sure, they were a lot of fun to make. But I was never trying to prove myself and be bigger and bigger every year. I was mostly doing those costumes because I wanted to. To have fun! And this year… I wanted to do something with you. I don’t care if I don’t have a lot of accessories, makeup, wigs and other flashy stuff… I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I don’t need to keep going! I just want something new right now… As long as I get to share it with you.”

She smiles, getting closer to him.

“Besides… I like to think that I was able to pull you out of your comfort zone tonight. And it’s everything that matters to me, simple costume or not.”

“Baby steps, huh?” He chuckled.

“Next year, we definitely need to pull off the banana suits.”

“That’s not happening.”

“Like you said you weren’t doing costumes yet here you are wearing one?”

He scowled, which made her giggle as he continued to roll his eyes. When she stopped, he leaned and slowly pressed his lips on hers. She returned the kiss softly as he let go of her hands to put them on her waist, getting her closer to his body. Her hands snuck higher as they got to his hair, gently tugging as she bit his lower lip, making him growl.

“Say… Are we ‘maybe later’, now?”

“Hmm… Eager, are we?”

“With you? Always. So?”

“Yes. I’ll text the others we’re leaving.”

“Alright, in this case…”

He took hold of her hand and started running, dashing down the street with her in tow. As she laughed through the night, he couldn’t help a smile appearing on his face.

In his mind, he took a decision: if getting matching costumes would make her laugh and smile this much, he would do it as much as she wanted, no matter how ridiculous or complex it would be.


End file.
